§ Mr. HURDasked the Minister of Transport whether any and, if so, what hew appointments have been made by his Ministry in connection with the audit of the road accounts of local authorities; what additional expenditure this involves: and whether these local accounts are already subject to an audit by the Ministry of Health?
§ Mr. HERBERT MORRISONAs I informed the hon. Member on the 15th April last, the highway accounts of local authorities in England and Wales are audited by auditors appointed by the Ministry of Health. I have a small staff who examine current expenditure on schemes assisted by Road Fund grants (an essential proceeding in view of the high proportion of the cost borne by the fund), but they do not audit the accounts of the local authorities.